Online Reporter
Welcome to Personal Brand: Executive Perspective with Michelle Madziva, a weekly column dedicated to the art and strategy of personal branding.
Last week, in “The rejection behind the reputation,” I wrote about professional moments that test us ,the ignored proposal, the unanswered email, the opportunity that does not materialise and how we choose to respond.
Recently, I had the privilege of speaking at the Zimbabwe Open University High Tea 2026, where I shared insights on “Grooming, Etiquette and Personal Branding for a Modern Woman.”
As I looked around the room, one thought kept returning to me. Before you speak, people are already experiencing your brand. They notice how you enter, how you greet people, how you listen, how you dress and whether you appear prepared or not.
Personal branding is often treated as a visibility exercise. From polished photographs, LinkedIn posts, media interviews to conference appearances. Those things can amplify a reputation, but they cannot manufacture one. Your real brand is revealed in the experience people consistently have of you.
An executive can have an impressive title, extensive experience and unquestionable expertise, yet still struggle to inspire confidence. Another may have fewer years behind them, but communicate with clarity, composure and conviction. The difference is not always competence rather often, it is how that competence is experienced by others.
This is where grooming and etiquette become part of the personal brand conversation. Grooming and etiquette are not about vanity or performing sophistication. They are forms of professional communication ,signals of self awareness, respect and an understanding of how you show up in spaces that matter. For an executive, how you present yourself, engage with others and conduct yourself under pressure can reinforce your expertise or quietly undermine it.
The strongest executive brands are built on consistency. Do you keep your words as a leader?Do you respect other people’s time?Do you listen before responding and do you treat people with the same respect regardless of their position? You do not need to be the loudest person in the room to establish authority. You need to be credible when you speak, dependable when you commit and gracious when nobody is watching.
Eventually, your name will enter rooms you have not entered. A client will mention you and a colleague will recommend you. At that point, your personal brand is no longer what you say about yourself. It is the evidence other people have accumulated about you. Every interaction is depositing something into the account of your reputation.
Before your next meeting, presentation or networking event, ask yourself:
What do I want to be known for? What do people experience from me? Does my presence match the level of leadership I aspire to?
Your title can introduce you, but it cannot carry you forever. Your qualifications can open a door, but they cannot determine what people say after you leave the room. Your presence, consistency and reputation will.
So here is the executive challenge:
Do not ask whether people know your name. Ask what your name represents to them.
If your reputation walked into the room five minutes before you did, would it strengthen confidence in you or leave people needing more evidence? That answer is your personal brand.
Michelle Madziva
Founder & CEO, Grand Curations
Corporate Strategist | Personal Branding Consultant
